Machete shooting slingshot crossbow

A new challenge arose from the clouds of the youtube community: Can you shoot a machete with a slingshot?

I am not serious if the fellow youtuber was serious or just joking, but I did in anyway!

Now a machete is a very heavy weapon, and strong rubber plus a very long draw was called for. This had to be a slingshot crossbow because the rubber has to be so strong that you can not draw it out with one hand. Also the danger of hitting the hand had to be considered.

The result is actually pretty impressive: The weapon sent the machete all the way up to the hilt into six layers of very thick cardboard. Try to do that by throwing a machete! No way.

The video also shows two very conventional slingshots, both handmade and already presented in some of the forums.

Simply putting duct tape won't guarantee straight flight...of course you can brute it and give it "Wings", but perhaps a little math will keep things in balance and "guarantee" results...however it's a machete not an arrow and what may guarantee the proper arrow flight, might be nothing more than a guideline for machete flight experiment.

Here is a bit on FOC calculation:

Quote :

Weighing in on `FOC' A lot of bowhunters have trouble with broadheads because they're unaware of the front- of-center (FOC) balance point of their arrow. Very simply stated, FOC is the point on the arrow at which the fletch uses leverage to correct arrow flight. The further forward the FOC, the longer the `lever' the fletch has to work with and the easier its job. The general FOC recommendation is 12 to 15% for broadheads (compared to 8-11% for field points). Finger shooters, and those shooting shafts less than 26-inches in length should lean toward the 15% figure. This is because shorter arrows are inherently less stable, and finger shooters, once again, need a little extra help to correct the normal arrow wobble upon release.

Do the math yourself. Here's how I do it... and since I'm no math wiz it's pretty simple. The formula is: [(ABP ÷ TAL) - .50] x100 = FOC. ABP is the measurement of the Arrow Balance Point for the tail of the arrow, and TAL is the Total Arrow Length.

All you need is a tape measure and something to balance an arrow on (like a pencil) to figure out your FOC. First, balance the arrow and mark where the balance point is. Then, measure the length of your arrow from where the string contacts the nock up to where the insert goes into the shaft. Next, measure from the throat of the nock to the mark you made at the balance point. Finally, input the figures into the FOC formula- [(ABP ÷ TAL) - .50] x100 = FOC. For example: If you had a 30" arrow that balanced at 19" the formula would read [(19÷30) - .50] x 100 = 13.3% FOC.

If you find your arrow's FOC is too far back and you really don't want to change shafts or components, try switching to feathers. They're much lighter than vanes and should move your FOC forward by 2% or more. You can also use a lighter nock. I particularly like the `Tune-a-Nocks" from Quality Archery Designs (804-846-5839). They're super light, accurate, and they work especially well if you shoot a string loop like I do.

If your FOC is too far back you can either use a heavier broadhead (if your shaft spine can handle it), or lighten up the rear end of your arrow with feathers or lighter nocks.

I didn't include the part about nocks for nothing...in the machete the role of the nock is played by the handle/grip of the machete and might need to be reduced or removed to correct the point of balance.Interesting project, will be interesting to see if a machete can be made to fly accurately using some means of stabilization....also interesting how you will get around the issue with the machete hooking onto the string rather than the string pushing it - I don't have a slow motion camera yet, but I imagine the sole reason of the problem of incorrect flight is not only in the point of balance/means of stabilization/inconsistent release(string hop), but also in the interference caused by the string at the end of the power stroke...The machete hooked in the front will have to have to continue "dragging" the rest of itself past the string, which at the end of the powerstroke is now just dangling chaotically and only getting in the way of the projectile. Good luck and Let me know what your thoughts are.Ivo

Last edited by Ivo on March 28th 2011, 4:45 pm; edited 1 time in total

cowscankillWeapons Master

Number of posts : 1371Reputation : 89Join Date : 2010-01-09Location : United States

Saw this on your channel, waited for the topic to appear here Many kudos to you! Holy freak it's awesome. And nice job taking that cut like a man, my friends freak out when they see me bleed like that.

And nice job taking that cut like a man, my friends freak out when they see me bleed like that.

You're friends freak? Someone once brought a live blade to a practice class by mistake and guess who he was sparring against? That's right, me! I won (thank god) but he got a hit in on me and I got a cool scar across two of my fingers. My sister was watching us because she likes the sparring parts and when I looked up she was GONE. As in like, locked herself in the bathroom GONE.

Took me forever to calm her down after that and I was the one that almost lost two fingers, or my life, whichever.

cowscankillWeapons Master

Number of posts : 1371Reputation : 89Join Date : 2010-01-09Location : United States

And nice job taking that cut like a man, my friends freak out when they see me bleed like that.

You're friends freak? Someone once brought a live blade to a practice class by mistake and guess who he was sparring against? That's right, me! I won (thank god) but he got a hit in on me and I got a cool scar across two of my fingers. My sister was watching us because she likes the sparring parts and when I looked up she was GONE. As in like, locked herself in the bathroom GONE.

Took me forever to calm her down after that and I was the one that almost lost two fingers, or my life, whichever.

Yeah my friends freak, a lot of them are pansies. Today in class, half of the girls didn't know what shrapnel, friendly fire, or carrier pigeons were while we were watching a war film.

You should make one that fires glass bottles and ashtrays for all the football hooligans!

The words 'fire' and 'glass bottles' in one sentence can only make me think of one thing. Molotov cocktails! You should make something that fires those!

However, it'll probably be pretty dangerous. Maybe you can find a safe way how to do it?

Yes, maybe you can find a safe way to LAUNCH A BOTTLE OF ACCELERANT THROUGH THE AIR WITH A FLAMING RAG AS AN IGNITION SYSTEM.

I mean it's not like liquid is unstable in mid air travels inside a fragile glass bottle, that might actually shatter from the force of launching it, or like the flaming rag and poorly balanced liquid would in any way risk a premature ignition of any kind.

Lol sorry but when you used the word "safe" in a post about launching glass bottles filled with dangerous liquids and shoddy ignition system it was just completely ridiculous to me and I needed to rant. The only time that would be acceptable would be if you had "un" in front of "safe", or were talking about it NOT being safe.

@Wolfie, well, I know That's why I said that it probably wasn't going to work. I also didn't really specify what I was going for. I don't necessarily mean a bottle with a flaming rag. I just mean shooting something that when it hits the ground turns into fire and flames. And it was more or less meant as a joke I just like the idea of having a slingshot raining fiery death on everything

Someone suggested that I design a vampire stake launcher. Of course we are talking about a real stake, not a flimsy wooden arrow (that would probably just make the vampire more angry), I am talking a solid piece of oak, 15 inches long and at least one inch diameter.

Could be interesting! I would attach crosses and a holy water super soaker to the weapon.

Someone suggested that I design a vampire stake launcher. Of course we are talking about a real stake, not a flimsy wooden arrow (that would probably just make the vampire more angry), I am talking a solid piece of oak, 15 inches long and at least one inch diameter.

Could be interesting! I would attach crosses and a holy water super soaker to the weapon.

I just discovered this comic earlier today. I'm currently about 85 pages into it, and I still don't quite Know what's going on with everything, but it just got a *lot* more awesome now that I've seen this page. I'mma get back to that now, and hopefully they answer all the questions I Forgot I asked earlier.

Also known as a Retractable Forearm Dagger, Xiphoid is a class of weapons with a blade that is retractable into a forearm worn wristband/bracer sheath. Designed for swift and quick surprise attacks. It is notable for being evolved from the Katar and the Pata, punching swords with the blade sitting inline with the users fist..

There's two kinds of people in this world when you boil it all down.
You've got your 'talkers' and you've got your 'doers'.
Most people are just talkers, all they got is talk. But when all is said and done, it's the doers who change this world. And when they do that, they change us. And thats why we never forget them...
So which one are you? Do you just talk about it or do you stand up and do something about it? Because believe you me, all the rest of it is just bullshit.

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